The re-release on Blu-Ray allows a little re-examination of this very well-received sequel to the original “Lion King.” The original king of the lions, Mufasa (the sonorous voice of James Earl Jones), is now in the spirit world, and his son Simba (the voice of Matthew Broderick) tries to reign in his stead, assisted by a spirit-breath kind of extension of Mufasa’s benevolence (yes, it’s very Trinitarian). But now we go to the “Romeo and Juliet” plot, where Simba’s daughter, Kiara (the voice of Neve Campbell), falls in love with Kovu, who’s from “that other” pride, the one Simba has forbidden any contact with, because they are mortal enemies.
Well, it’s a kids’ movie, so it’s not going to end like Shakespeare’s play. Amazingly, the star-crossed lovers jump into the fray of the battle scene and actually shame the combatants into stopping and realizing they have much in common and would be better off being friends (oh, don’t we wish). The only recalcitrant combatant winds up perishing in an accident, and so, the savannah is safe for peace at last, and a happily ever after where love abounds. How could the believer not rejoice in such a hopeful story, exuberantly told?
Oh, and just for kicks, then they made a straight-to-DVD designed to be sandwiched in between Lion Kings 1 and 2, which is kind of an homage to all those informal comedic scenarios where the audience is seated behind a couple of wisecrackers in silhouette who make jokes about what’s happening on “the big screen.” For this in-house humor, a couple of the minor characters in “Lion King,” Pumbaa the warthog (the voice of Ernie Sabella) and Timon the Meerkat (the voice of Nathan Lane), play with the remote control long enough to let us know they’re watching (and caustically commenting on) the real “Lion King,” but since their characters don’t appear until later in the story, they thought they’d rewind to “the other footage” and show us their back-story, and how they arrive at the land of Hakuna Matata in the first place. Yes, they’re both social misfits, and so they befriend each other, and in so doing finally find a place for themselves on the wide African savannah (sure, it’s an obvious social commentary, but even just eight years later, it seems unnecessarily pointed). Anyway, some of that uplifting “joie de vivre” of the whole “Lion King” series is abundant here. The animation is great, and it’s definitely kid-suitable (though heavy on the digestive humor). And they even managed to re-assemble most of the original cast to join in the fun. “Can you feel the love tonight?”
Ronald P. Salfen is interim pastor of St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Irving, Texas.
